


cats, coffee, and caring

by werealldreaming



Series: cosmere cat café [1]
Category: Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cat Cafés, Cats, Gen, References to Depression, well just the one cat really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 04:44:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17739245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/werealldreaming/pseuds/werealldreaming
Summary: Kaladin has been having a hard time. Adolin is a good friend. Also, Syl is a cat.





	cats, coffee, and caring

Adolin is the one who drags him out from his apartment one Thursday, when Kaladin hasn’t left the apartment in almost a week.

He’s been too tired to go to class, recently, completely drained of the energy and willpower to do anything. He knows he’s missing important material, but can’t bring himself to check his grades. He knows Skar and Sigzil are worried about him, has heard them talking about him through the walls of the apartment, but he finds that he doesn’t care. Skar is the one who makes sure he eats, and drinks, and brushes his teeth. But he’s busy.

Skar isn’t home, so Kaladin drags himself out of bed to answer the door, not even bothering to change into something that makes it look like he’s a productive member of society. He’s expecting Skar, or Rock maybe, coming to force him to take care of himself. When he opens the door to see Adolin, he almost shuts the door in his face.

“What are you doing here?”

Adolin looks offended. “I’m your friend, I’m visiting you.” He steps into the apartment and takes in Kaladin, who is unshaven and in a nightshirt and pajama pants. “Are you allergic to cats?”

“No?” Kaladin closes the door and follows Adolin into the kitchen.

“Good,” Adolin says. “Go take a shower and change, we’re going out soon.”

“What?”

“You heard me,” he says, shoving Kaladin lightly toward his room. “Go. You need it, man, sitting alone in the dark isn’t a fun time.”

He’s not wrong. Sitting alone in the dark isn’t fun, but neither is going out and forcing himself to go to class and do homework. And Kaladin had been meaning to shower anyway, so he does his routine. Shower, shave, change into clean clothes. He needs to do laundry—he’s needed to do so for a while now, honestly.

“Happy now?” he asks, exiting the bathroom half an hour later. Adolin has made himself at home in the kitchen, making a sandwich. No, two sandwiches. At the sound of Kaladin’s question, he turns.

“Absolutely,” he says, standing up and picking up the plate of sandwiches. He offers Kaladin one of them. “Have a sandwich.”

Kaladin opens his mouth to refuse, but Adolin shoves the sandwich into his mouth, effectively stopping him from saying anything. Kaladin glares at him, but takes a bite of the sandwich. It tastes… surprisingly good, considering Adolin’s skill in the kitchen. He is also reminded of the fact that he hasn’t eaten since lunchtime yesterday.

“Right,” Adolin says a few minutes later, letting the dishes clatter into the sink. “Let’s go.”

“Where?” Kaladin asks. He doesn’t really know what Adolin will say.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” he says, then sees Kaladin’s expression. “We’re going to the cat café that Renarin works at, because that’s a low-stress activity you can do that keeps you from sitting in here all day. Plus, cats.”

Kaladin stares. That had not been what he was expecting in the slightest. “Don’t you have to pay to go into cat cafés?”

“It’s on me,” Adolin says. Kaladin frowns and he hastens to add, “Don’t worry about it, really. I can afford it, and Renarin can get us a discount if you’re really worried. But it’s fine. You really should go out.” Kaladin knows how stubborn Adolin is , and he’s right—he knows he should get out and do something, so he shrugs and grabs his coat from the couch.

The day is surprisingly cold, despite the bright sun. It’s nice—the fresh air and bright sun wakes him up and removes some of the lethargy he’s been feeling for the past week. Still, he hadn’t anticipated it to be this cold, and soon he’s shivering slightly in his too-thin hoodie.

Adolin notices this, and wordlessly shrugs off his overcoat and hands it to Kaladin. He tries to push it away, but Adolin grumbles, “Just take the damn thing you idiot, I’m overheating anyway.” Kaladin takes the coat.

When the two step into the café, the woman behind the counter clearly recognizes Adolin, but when she sees Kaladin a step behind she puts on the fakest smile he’s ever seen. Probably one of Adolin’s exes, he assumes. Her name tag reads ‘Melali’. “Renarin is in the back, supervising the cats and customers. We close in an hour, though.”

“Oh, okay,” Adolin says. Kaladin can’t tell if he’s faking politeness too or if he’s just incredibly oblivious. “We’re actually here to hang out with the cats, if we can?”

“Of course!” Melali says. “We’re actually not full, so as long as you guys pay you can go back. You can get an hour inside, if you’d like.” What would you guys like from the café?”

“Yeah, that would be great,” Adolin says, pulling out his wallet. “And can we also get a large latte and a small black coffee from the café?”

“Of course!” 

Kaladin shifts uncomfortably, trying not to feel guilty for having Adolin spend money on him. After all, he’d had offered it. But he’d also made him food earlier, which he also didn’t deserve.

He watches as Melali’s coworker makes their drinks, only half-listening to her spiel about the rules of the café. “You guys are good to go! Your time is up in an hour, when we close,” she says, ushering them into a small anteroom between the café and the cat room. “Your drinks will be brought to you in a few minutes.”

Adolin nods, and the moment the door to the hallway has closed, he groans and buries his head in his hands. “That was the most awkward thing I’ve ever experienced.”

“Another ex?” Kaladin asks, and Adolin nods, ears pink. He can’t even say he’s surprised—Adolin often runs into old exes. He’s also certain he’s exaggerating how embarrassing the experience had been. After all, not much can beat the time Adolin went to Student Medical Services and ended up with his most recent ex as his nurse.

“Anyway,” Adolin says, opening the door to the cat room. “Let’s not think about that and go pet some cats.”

The cat room is large and spacious, with one wall made up of floor-to-ceiling windows. There are many small beds and toys scattered on the floor, and the walls have climbing structures built into them. There’s a quiet murmur of conversation, and Kaladin feels himself relax. There’s something about the café’s atmosphere that’s incredibly soothing. It feels like a place that he can relax.

“Hey, Renarin,” Adolin calls cross the room. Renarin looks up from where he is engaged with a little girl. He says something to her and walks over to them.

A small kitten approaches and looks up at them. Kaladin crouches down, smiling. “Hey, there,” he says, reaching out a hand. The kitten nips his finger and bolts, jumping onto a ledge built into the wall.

Renarin laughs. “That’s Syl, he says. “She does that with everyone here, it’s her favorite way to say hello.”

They settle down at a small table in the corner, brightly lit by the sun rays filtering in through the window. It’s warm, and Kaladin has a sudden thought that this must be why cats love sunny spots so much.

The white cat--Syl--approaches them again, hopping up onto his lap.

"Hey," Kaladin says, scratching her ears. She nuzzles into his hand, licking his fingers. "Aren't you sweet?"

It's quiet for a while, as Adolin lets him play with Syl. She eventually settles down on his lap, no longer interested in playing.

"So," Adolin says finally.

Kaladin tenses slightly. "So, what?" he asks, trying to keep the hostility out of his voice.

"How have you been doing? And don't lie and say you're fine, Kal, we both know that's not true."

"It's not that bad.” Kaladin studied the pattern of Syl's back, running his fingers through the soft fur, and resolutely avoiding eye contact with Adolin.

"Kal," there's a warning note in Adolin's voice, and Kaladin winces internally. He doesn't want Adolin to be mad. "I talk to people, you know. I'm not an idiot. I know you not replying to my messages isn't because you're busy.”

“What do you want me to say?” Kaladin says, frustrated. “I have it under control.”

“No, you don’t.” Adolin reaches out to pet Syl, but she shrinks back, nipping lightly at his fingers. Kaladin feels strangely vindicated by the show of support. Adolin sighs. “Have you been going to therapy, even? Taking your meds?”

He doesn’t answer. It’s not like he can give the answer Adolin wants, anyway.  

Adolin’s voice softens. “We’re worried about you. All of us. And I’m not trying to make you feel guilty, I just. Want you to know that we’re willing to help.”

Kaladin stares at his lap where Syl is sitting, eyes burning. It’s not that he doesn’t know that what Adolin says is true; he’s heard it plenty of times, from many of the people in his life. He knows that people care about him, intellectually. But it’s still strange to hear the words spoken.

Lirin had never been the kind to show his love with words. Hesina had been, but she had withdrawn a lot after Tien had died. And Tien—he had shown his love in so many different ways, in all the ways that got through to Kaladin exactly the way he needed it.

“Thanks, Adolin,” he says finally.

Adolin pulls him firmly into a hug, and Kaladin shifts so he can wrap his arms around him. He presses his face into Adolin’s shoulder and breathes, swallowing down the tears. 

Kaladin loses himself in the embrace and, just for a moment, lets himself relax. 

Finally, he pulls back. “Thank you,” he repeats, twisting his fingers together. As if on cue, Syl jumps up out of his lap and yowls, then pads over to a lattice ball that has rolled over a few feet away. She nudges it over to Kaladin’s foot, then sits down and stares up at him.

Kaladin stares back at the cat, making eye contact. There is a moment where neither of them move, eyes locked on the other. Then Adolin sits forward and picks up the ball, and Syl is distracted.

“You want the ball?” he asks, raising said object. Syl  _ mrows  _ and leaps up onto Adolin’s lap, tail raised high. Adolin laughs and tosses the ball lightly towards the center of the room, and Syl leaps after it. She’s clearly eager to play, dropping the ball back at Adolin’s feet and looking up expectantly.

Kaladin watches the two play together for a while, stepping in every once in while to create a change of pace. But mostly he just watches, and feels the tightness in his chest ease up slightly. He laughs at Syl’s antics and drinks his coffee and finds himself feeling better than he has in a while.

Finally, there comes an announcement that the café is closing. Renarin comes over and says, “You ready to go?”

“No,” says Adolin, looking put out. “Syl is such a good cat, aren’t you?” He crouches down and scratches her head.

“I’m surprised she hung out with you for so long,” Renarin says. “Syl doesn’t have that long of an attention span usually.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Renarin’s face lights up. “She loves playing tricks on people, too. All the people who try to do work in here have a love-hate relationship with her, cuz she sits on laptops. I mean, all cats sit on laptops, but she does it more than others. I think she does it just to mess with people.”

Kaladin laughs, leading the way out of the café. “That’s adorable, I love her.”

The air outside the café is bitingly cold, and Kaladin suppresses a shiver. Still, it’s nice outside. The setting sun provides a gentle warmth that helps cut through the chill.

They walk back to his apartment in silence. Kaladin has never been particularly talkative, but he finds himself wanting to say something. He’s not sure what, though, and even when they’re reaching his apartment building he hasn’t said anything.

They arrive at his apartment building, and there is a pause.

"Will you be okay?" Adolin asks, and Kaladin frowns.

"Of course.” 

Adolin shifts uncomfortably. He seems to have noticed that he's touched a nerve. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--" he gestures vaguely, "You know, imply that you can't take care of yourself."

Kaladin shrugs. "I know. It's okay, don't worry about it. And don't worry about me, I'll be fine." For once, it doesn't feel like a complete lie. Just a partial one.

"Alright," Adolin says. "If you're not, you can always message me, okay? Or Renarin. Or anyone, please don't cut off everyone again."

"Okay," Kaladin says. He shifts uncomfortably, then says, "Thanks for dragging me out of the apartment. It was. Good."

Adolin smiles. "That's good. I'm glad I helped, at least a little bit."

"Yeah," Kaladin says. "I'll see you in class next week?" 

"Of course," Adolin says, as if it is a given. 

Kaladin watches as the two walk away, down the street and right at the intersection. For a moment, he wonders what he'll do if this improvement doesn't last. If tomorrow is just as difficult as yesterday and the day before. 

But, he decides as he climbs the stairs to his apartment, that's something he'll deal with when it comes. 

**Author's Note:**

> full disclosure,,,, i have never been to a cat café,,,, nor do i own a cat
> 
> i hope you enjoyed! please leave a comment if you did :D


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